Dangerous Load: Inez & Crystal (backdated)

[x-desperado.livejournal.com]

After some hard work, Inez gets a pep talk from the Princess.



Inez sat on the hillside with a plastic water bottle in one hand and the bulky respirator in another. She was covered in grease and soot from where she'd been climbing in between train cars and uncoupling them so that they could be pulled away from the scene of the accident. Breathing through the respirator was like trying to work underwater, she thought. And the heat wasn't doing her any favors. At least the water bottle was cool as she pressed it to her forehead.

Catching sight of Inez, Crystal was glad to see her taking a break. When out with Red X, it was just as important to avoid working too hard as it was to do the work itself. While most people seemed to be good about knowing when to take breaks, there could always be a few who tried to overexert themselves. Crystal had done this herself her first time out with Red X and had been lucky to have Kurt close by to save her. Now Crystal was one of the people trying to help keep make sure that others took breaks when needed. "Hello, Inez," Crystal greeted the girl.

Inez waved weakly and downed another mouthful of cold water. "Hi back, Miss... um, Your High... Crystal. Wow, I'm out of it." She shook her head and looked down to where the accident scene seemed to finally be clearing itself up. "I don't think there's a square inch of me that's not either aching or covered in dirt or grease or I don't want to know what. I guess being super-strong doesn't mean I don't get tired or sore, that's for sure."

"I can offer you a small personal rain shower," Crystal said, "although that will not help with your aches or the feeling of exhaustion, and then when you go back to help, if you are able to do so, that is, you will become dirty once more. I can also act as an air conditioning unit to help you cool down for the time being. It is something that I tend to find myself doing most of the time when I am out with Red X, starting with the very first time Red X asked for volunteers from Xavier's when I was there."

Inez thought about the offer, then shook her head. "Nah, this isn't that bad. I'm used to Texas summer heat. New York really never gets all that hot in comparison. And the tired achy feeling... it ain't all bad, you know? Getting to go out and really do some good here." She took a couple deep breaths and got up to her feet, then took a few steps closer to the princess in order to take advantage of the "instant air-conditioner" offer.

"Dude, that's hella awesome, yo," she said with a grin as she felt the air temperature drop around Crystal. "You know, powers that are like... normal useful. I mean, you can fly and make tornadoes and stuff, but I've always kinda envied the powers that are just useful when not saving the world, right?"

Crystal nodded, smiling. "Exactly, Inez. There is so much more to having mutant abilities than flashy displays of power. While those can be impressive to watch, in this case, bigger is not always better, or more productive. Sometimes less is more, yes? My abilities can be used for destructive purposes, but they can also be used directly to help people live. So tends to be the case with many mutants; on its own, a power is neither good nor bad, it is up to the one who has that power to learn how to control and use the ability, hopefully to use them for beneficial purposes rather than harmful ones."

That struck a chord with Inez, especially since she'd been stewing about the double-standard that seemed to be prevalent when the mansion's inhabitants were irresponsible with their powers. She'd seen Jean-Paul speeding about the wreckage - they'd probably give him a medal for just showing up and keeping the body count in single digits, she figured.

Trying to keep a frown off her face, Inez drained the last bit of water from her bottle and smiled at Crystal. "I gotta admit, I love busting things up. But helping with stuff like this... it feels good. Shows people that they don't have to be scared of us. Well... not all of us."

"A few bad apples cause people to question not only the entire barrel, but the entire orchard, yes? Unfortunately, the mutants who use their abilities to cause harm tend to be in the spotlight more than those who do not." Crystal looked out over the scene of the accident for a moment. "Such is the way of the world, both with mutants and non-mutants. All we can do is give the world less reasons to fear us by not fueling their fears. In time, perhaps those who cause harm will realize the error of their ways, understand that all they are doing is making the situation worse for themselves as well as other mutants."

"Well, isn't that kind of what the X-Men do?" Inez asked. "Try and stop those who cause harm before they can make things worse? I mean, trust me, I know how bad things are already." She made a quick mental list of just how much being a mutant had worked against her - bounced from foster home to foster home, the problems at the diner, the chaos that came with being part of the school.
But then she looked down at the train and a proud smile came to her face. None of those problems mattered when she was saving people, she decided. "But we can make them better, right?" she asked hopefully.

Crystal smiled, too. "Yes, Inez. We can."